Quinoa Salad with Arugula and Chickpeas

Yes, another quinoa recipe. I just can’t get enough of this delicious food! It’s gluten free, a complete protein, and contains fiber, magnesium, folate, zinc, the list goes on and on!

I especially like quinoa for its versatility. You can make it into a sweet or savory dish, depending on what you want. It tastes great with some (dairy free) milk, nuts, bananas and dried fruit for a cold or hot cereal in the morning, but is also delicious in salads, hot dishes and vegan burgers.

This dish is easy because you can make it as simple as you want. If you don’t want the hassle of cooking chickpeas, then you can use canned. That means all you are doing is cooking the quinoa for 20 minutes, chopping cucumbers, and mixing everything in a bowl altogether.

As usual, this dish is made for you to be creative! You can add and omit whatever you want, according to your preference! I highly recommend sticking with the arugula and sundried tomatoes though, as arugula is more of a bitter green, and the tomatoes are sweeter, so together they make the perfect combo!

So without further ado…let us begin!

You will need:

4 to 5 cups baby organic arugula

1.5 cups quinoa (this expands to about 3 cups when cooked)

2 cups chickpeas

1 cup diced red onion

1 to 2 cups sliced Persian cucumbers

1 cup cilantro

3/4 cup sundried tomatoes

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

juice of one lime (about 1 to 1.5 tbsp)

salt and pepper

Step 1:

Cook the quinoa according to package directions. You prepare it the same as rice, so 1 cup quinoa to 2 cups water. The quinoa usually takes about 20 minutes to cook.

Step 2:

As the quinoa is cooking, you can chop all you vegetables. Thinly dice the red onion, slice the cucumbers and chop the cilantro. Add all 3 into a large mixing bowl along with the arugula and chickpeas.

Step 3:

When the quinoa is done cooking, set aside to cool with the top off. Or put into a separate bowl and smooth it out in a thin layer to cool faster (Hint: You can also prepare the quinoa in advance so that it is already cool. This will also take away all cooking time).

Once the quinoa is cool, add to the large bowl with the rest of the ingredients. Add the olive oil and lime, and mix thoroughly. Add salt and pepper according to your preference.

You can serve this dish immediately, or keep in the fridge for the olive oil and lime to soak into the mixture for a bit. This gives everything an even better flavor!

And you are done! As usual with quinoa dishes, it keeps great in the fridge for up to a week. Perfect for your lunches or as an extra snack. This dish is also light, but high in protein and fiber with the quinoa and chickpeas. Great for a pre-workout snack!